Academy midfielder Elliot Scotcher will win his second Wales U17 cap and make his first start this afternoon when his side face Norway in their second game at a friendly tournament in Sweden. Scotcher came on as a 35th minute sub in Tuesday’s 2-1 opening game defeat to Iceland.
The Tenby-born player has been named in the starting XI for today’s match in Vinberg. The Welsh youngsters complete their fixtures with a game against Sweden on Saturday. The matches are warm-ups for UEFA U17 Championships qualifiers in the new season.
In April, academy recruitment officer Malcolm Moore told TWTD what we should expect from Scotcher (and the rest of the new recruits) : "He’s a central midfield player, tall, slim, growing all the time, good on the ball.
"He gets box-to-box and is just a nice, good footballer. He does all the jobs a midfield player has to do.
"I said to him when he was up here recently ‘you never get in the box beyond the strikers’. The first time he got in the box, he scored!
"We’re very pleased for him. I hope this is going to be the first of many from Wales. Our two scouts work very hard in Wales.
"He comes from Tenby, there were lots of clubs after him, Midlands clubs like West Brom and Birmingham, Swansea as well, but I think he’s come here, has seen what we’ve got to offer, the type of club we are and the boy really wanted to come here.”
Wales U17s: 12. Christian Dibble (Bury), 2. Adam Henley (Blackburn Rovers), 3. William Roberts (Unattached), 4. Max Penk (Wrexham), 5. Will James (Blackburn Rovers), 6. Josh Pike (Swansea City), 7. Tom Bender (Colchester United) (c), 9. Elliot Scotcher (Ipswich Town), 11. Theo Wharton (Cardiff City), 16. Jonathan Evans (Accrington Stanley), 18. Robbie Parry (Wrexham), Subs: 1. Daniel Ward (Wrexham), 8. George Higgins (UD Almeria), 10. Jonathan Williams (Crystal Palace), 13. Emyr Huws (Manchester City), 14. Jandir Zola (Swansea City), 15. Gethyn Hill (Cardiff City), 17. James Loveridge (Swansea City).